Trail known as: Jiuzhaigou Huanglong Circular Trail (九寨沟黄龙环线） - Part 1
Country: China
Posted by: JimmyW
Trail genre: City/Family trail
Trail point starts from: Chengdu City, Sichuan
Trail point ends at: Chengdu City, Sichuan
Total trail nights: 7
Total trail distance: 1600 kms
This trail is especially dedicated to the victims and the family members who mourn the loss of their loved ones in recent Sichuan (四川), China earthquake epidemic.
This trail would not have been written had the tragic news not changed the face and lives of Sichuan today.
About 3 years ago, we joined a tour group whereby we traveled a loop trail in very hilly and winding road conditions. The trail started from Chengdu and went round uphill to Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟) and Huanglong (黄龙) and then passed through Wenchuan (汶川), the...
... now earthquake epicenter, as well as other scenic villages before we left China from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (四川成都双流国际机场).
This trail runs on one of the most economically lucrative routes in China as far as tourism is concerned. Literally known as "Golden tourism trail for the country"(国家黄金旅游线), which consists of Sichuan Eastern Ring road (四川东环线) and Sichuan Western Ring Road (四川西环线).
(Point at map to enlarge)
Day 1 : 15 Oct 2005
Chengdu (成都) -> Mianyang (绵阳）
We started our trail from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. Chengdu has a population of about 11 millions (Density : 900/km˛ vs New York city 155/km˛). Chengdu has a reputation of housing and producing some prominent Chinese figures in history. Eg :
Bai Ling (白灵, Chinese-born American actress),
Zheng Jie (郑洁)and Yan Zi (both tennis players),
Xue Tao (薛涛), Li Bai (李白) and Du Fu (杜甫), some famous poets in Tang Dynasty.
Chengdu was also the capital during Liu Bei's (刘备) military regime, one of the important era in Chinese history writings. Economically, Chengdu is also the birthplace of paper-money that is still being used in the world today. We traveled about 200kms before we reached the hotel in Mianyang (绵阳市) for our first night.
In a straightline, Chengdu is located at about 150kms direct from the epicenter, Wenchuan County (汶川). During Wenchuan earthquake (文川大地震), some 4,200 and 22,000 lives were taken away from Chengdu and Mianyang respectively (Source : Sina news). Chengdu's loss is valued at about US$115 billion, of which only a small portion is covered by insurance.
Day 2 : 16 Oct 2005
Mianyang (绵阳) -> Pingwu (平武) -> Baima Tibetan Ethnic Township (白马藏族乡)
The next day, we traveled uphill towards Pingwu (平武) via Jiangyou city (江油市). We completed a trek for about 150kms for today. The discouraging winding road conditions prolonged the drive. We ended our day in one of the busy hotels at hilltop. The hilltop is resided mostly by the Baima Tibetan tribe (白马藏族). Villagers here are friendly and from a conversation we had with a local kid, we realized that most people who lived there had not seen sea or beaches in their lives.
(point at pictures to read descriptions)
Before this, we visited a temple (报恩寺) and a cottage built to remember a famous poet in Tang dynasty, Li Bai (李白故里). Located at Jiangyou, this cottage should be in the range of 100kms if measured in a straightline from Wenchuan. Some building walls were reported to be shocked and broken into rubbles after the quake. Local residents here were reported to have offered food and basic necessities to many homeless victims who have fled their ruined houses into this area.
Day 3 : 17 Oct 2005
Baima Tibetan Ethnic Township (白马藏族乡) -> Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟)
The main highlight of the whole tour is Jiuzhaigou. Literally translated in English as "Valley of nine villages". Jiuzhaigou is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that offers spectacular sceneries with multi-level waterfalls and colorful lakes. Seriously, the lakes are blue in color while autumn transforms the lakes into more stunning look with reflection of nearby colorful pine trees.
Before the visit, I had imagined to rise early and break the dawn tranquility with my camera clicks. The reality, however was far more disappointing. It's a national park with no accommodation inside the park. We reached the national park at early hour together with some other 10,000 visitors. Mostly Chinese nationality. The tour became so unpleasant with everyone gushing disorderly. As foreigners, we experienced massive cultural shock to see how local people forcing physical contacts in negotiating movement within the crowd. They were however, not expecting your retaliation. Jumping queue is not an uncommon phenomenon. What was more frustrating was the inconsiderate behaviour where the crowd had no hesitation to obstruct in-action camera.
We spent a full day in the Jiuzhaigou park.
Jiuzhaigou experienced very little physical damage from the quake. During the quake, some rocks did fall but no casualty was reported. Staffs in the park experienced communication difficulty with family members after the quake. Not much other information is available since then.
In our trail loop, Jiuzhaigou was the furthest point before we changed course and headed back to Chengdu via Sichuan Western Ring Road (四川西环线). In other words, we are now moving closer and closer towards the epicenter, Wenchuan (汶川).
Trail known as: Jiuzhaigou Huanglong Circular Trail (九寨沟黄龙环线） - Part 1
